Method of making waterproof and acidproof receptacles



Sept. 11, 1923 J. P. ELLIOTT METHOD OF MAKING WATERPROOF AND ACIDPROOFRECEPTACLES Filed Oct. 28. 1920' Patented Sept. 11, 1923.

mural) STATES 13m P. ELLIOTT, 0F

PATENT caries.

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS; MARY BRODEBS ELLIOTT E XECUTRIX OF suncmrs r.ELLIOTT, nncmsnn.

ILIHOD MAKING WATERPROOF AND ACIDPBOOF BECEITACLES.

' Application filed October 28, 1920. Serial No. 420,280.

' To all whom it may concem:

Be it known that I, JAMES P. ELLIo'rr, a citizen of the United States,residing at 'Ghicago, county of Cook, State of Illinois,

have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Methods of MakingWatershall be acidproof and waterproof, mechanically strong and durable,and not be too expensive, but, so far as I know, the problem has neverbeen satisfactorily solved. One field that I have in mind is that ofbattery boxes which are largely made of wood which is painted orotherwise coated with numerous coats of acidand water-resistantmaterial. Even if .there were no other objection to boxes made in thisway, there is always the important objection that whenever the coatingfor the wood breaks down at one point the wood is exposed.

The object of the present invention is a simpl and novel method forcheaply producing boxes or other receptacles in such a way that they maybe composed wholly. of

acid-resistant material .and be given greater mechanical strength thanthat afiorded by such material through the inclusion of reinforcingfibers; sothat as long as .the structure has not broken downsufiiciently to form a hole or crevice extending entirely through a wallthereof it will prevent acid contents thereof from reaching the exteriorand damaging surrounding things.

In carrying out my invention I build up a rudimentary receptacle byfirst. forming a rudimentary. bottom out of a plurality of layersorsheets of material made upof asphaltum, pitch, tar or other. suitablema terial, then build up rudimentary side walls by forming a'pile orstack of frame-like elements cut out of sheets of the same material usedforthe. bottom wall, and thensubject the rudimentary receptacle,-thusformed, to

heavy pressure, and preferably to heat, so

having distributed throughout the same fibers to give toughness to theproduct.

The various features of novelty whereby my invention is characterizedwill hereinafter be pointed out with particularity in the dams; but, fora full understanding of my invention and of its objects and advantages,reference may be had to the follow ing detailed description taken inconnection with the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Figure 1 represents a rudimentary rece tacle;

ig. 2 is a transverse section through the rudimentary receptacle;

Fig. 3 is a section similar to Fig. 2 through the completed receptacle;

' Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic view showing the rudimentary receptacle in ahydraulic press in which it is completed, the press be- 111%0P811; and Iig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 4, showing thepress closed and thereceptacle completed.

As heretofore explained, I first form a rudimentary receptacle out ofsheets containing asphaltum, pitch, tar or other acidresistant materialand fibrous material;

These sheets may be made in any suitable way, but I prefer to use sheetsas they leave the paper-making apparatus in my prior Patent No.1,305,081, namel sheets made out of fibrous lpulp with w ch there hasbeen mixed a arge proportion of comminuted asphaltum, itc ,tar or othersuitable substance; and, for the sake of brevity, I shall confine thedetailed description to a process utilizing sheets of this particularkind, although my invention is of course not limited to such sheets.

In carrying out thepresent invention I make a stack of sheets containingthe acidresistant material and fibrous material,-of suflicient mass toform the bottom of the receptacle and of. a length and widthapproximatin the length and width of such bottom, sue a stack beingindicated at 1 in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 of the drawing. I then place upon thebottom-forming stack or rudimentary bottom a stack, 2, of framelikepieces cut out of the same material as thatqfrom which the rudimentarybottom is formed, so as to produce a rudimentary receptacle made up of alar e number of layers resting loosely upon eac other. This rudimentaryreceptacle is then subjected to heat and pressure in such a way that thebottom andside walls are compacted and densified, the acid-resistantmaterial being melted or fused into a single mass or body so as toproduce the completed receptacle indicated at A in Figs. 3 and 5.

The transformation of the rudimentary receptacle into the completedproduct may be accomplished in various ways preferably, however, in asuitable hot press operated hydraulically or otherwise and, for thepurpose of making my process clear, I have shown diagrammatically inFigs. 4 and 5 the elements of a suitable press to accomplish mypurpose.Referring to these two figures, 3 represents the bed of a press, thisbed having a work-engaging face of the same size and shape as thesurface of the bottom of the receptacle to be formed. Surrounding themember 3 is a shell, 4, of a height somewhat greater than the height ofthe receptacle. (lo-operating with the members 3 and 4 are two plungerelements, 5 and 6, the member 5 being in the form of a plunger whosecross sectional area is the same as the cross sectional area. of theinterior of the completed receptacle; while the member 6 is in the formof a shell surrounding the member 5 and of such cross section as topermit it to enter the member 4 without leaving any undue amount ofclearance between the exterior thereof and the inner surfaces of themember 4. The parts of the press are preferably heated in any suitableway.

When the press is to be used, the parts thereof which are to come incontact with the work are preferably thoroughly coated with flux oil orany other suitable material which will prevent the material of thereceptacle from adhering to the press; then the rudimentary receptacleis placed upon the bed of the ress and within the member 4 as shown anthe press is closed as illustrated in Fig. 5. The press is closed underheavy pressure so that the material of the rudimentary receptacle iscompacted and densified, preferably to such an extent that the specificgravity of the completed product is approximately the same as thespecific gravity of the asphaltum or pitch. The plunger, 5, is thenraised and the shell, 4, lowered until clear of the inner and outerwalls respectively of the receptacle, and the member 6 is then raised,leaving the com pleted receptacle standing on the bed of the press.

It will be seen that the walls of the receptacle are'subjected topressure in all directions so that complete uniformity of structurethroughout the bottom and side walls may be obtained. Furthermore, ifthe heat is sufiicient to make the asphaltum or pitch have thecharacteristics of a liquid or semi-liquid, any inequalities in pressureeeann which might otherwise exist between difi erent points in the workwould be equalized by the hydrostatic pressure transmitted through thematerial of the vessel itself. If the parts of the press are chamberedfor the admission of steam to heat the same, these same chambers may beemployed for subsequently cooling the work, by passing a cooling mediumthrough the same, if this should be desired.

It will also be seen that if it be desired to make simply a tube or1anendless wall, the process may be carried out just as described exceptthat the layers or sheets, 1, ada ted to form the bottom of thereceptacle, wi l be omitted.

A completed device made in accordance with my invention will have wallswhich, for all practical purposes, are solid bodies of a material whichis waterproof, acidproof, and a non-conductor of electricity. Thefibrous material contained in the structure and servin to givemechanical strength and toughness t ereto will, in most instances, whendry, bean insulator of electricity but, even though it should be more orless of aconductor, the fibers will be so thoroughly impregnated andcoated with the insulating material that the insulating qualities of thestructure as a whole will not be reduced thereby. As heretofore stated,when the insulating coating of a wooden batte box breaks down at anypoint, the value of the box is great] reason that t e moisture soaksinto the wood and transforms the latter into a good conductor ofelectricity. This is ofxcourse only one of the uses to which myinvention may be put, but the illustration serves, in a measure, todemonstrate some of the advantages of my invention. I claim: 1. Themethod of making a receptacle which consists in forming a pile of sheetscomposed of fibrous material and a -material which is plastic at certaintemperatures, some of the sheets .being open, at the center and theothers extending across the opening to form the bottom of thereceptacle, and then compressing the pilc at one of the aforesaidtemperatures to compact and density the sheets and unite them into aunitary homogeneous body in which that portion forming the sides of thereceptacle isilshallower and thicker than in the original p e.

2. The method of making a receptacle which consistsin forming a pile ofsheets composed of fibrous material and acid-resistant materialwhichsisplastic and cementitious when heated, some of the sheets being in theforms of open frames to form the sides of the receptacle and a pluralityof sheets at one end extending across the frame opening to form thebottom of the redecreased; this being for the ceptacle, and thensubjecting the pile to heat and heavy pressure to compact and densitythe sheets and unite them into a unitary homogeneous mass.

3. The method of making a receptacle which consistsin forming apile ofsheets composed of fibrous material and a comminuted material which isplastic at certain temperatures, some of the sheets being open at thecenter and some of the sheets at the bottom of the pile'extending acrossthe central open space of the other sheets, and then exerting a heavydownward pressure on all the upwardly directed faces of said pile whileholding the pile confined within a container engaging the inner andouter vertical 'walls and the underside of the bottom wall and while thepile is at one of the aforesaid temperatures.

4'. The method of making a receptacle which consists in forming a-pileof sheets composed of fibrous material anda large proportion ofcomminuted material which is plastic when heated, some of the sheetsbeing in the form of frames open at the center and some of the sheets atthe bottom of'the pile extending across the open center of the remainderto form the bottom of the receptacle, and then subjecting the pile toheat- 5. The method of making a receptacle which consists in forming apile of sheets composed of a material which is plastic at certaintemperatures and fibers distributed throughout such material to bind thesame together, some of said sheets being open at the center and theothers extending 'across the opening to form the bottom of thereceptacle, and thenicompressing the pile at one of the aforesaidtemperatures so as to fuse the aforesaid material into, a single homo,-geneous mass and thus produce a monolithic receptacle made out of suchmaterial having fibers distributed thr ou bout the same.

In testimony whereof, I sign this specification.

JAMES P. ELLIOTT.

